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An Integrating Culture of Undergraduate Research

Donald Cronkite, Department of Biology
Janet L. Andersen, Department of Mathematics
James Gentile, Dean of Natural Sciences

Hope College
Holland, MI 49423


The mission of the program in science and mathematics at Hope College mirrors that of the college - to provide an innovative curriculum that intertwines student learning and faculty development. Students work in a collaborative fashion in a number of ways, and upper-level students serve as mentors and role models for younger students in formal and informal capacities. We expect students to leave Hope with an ability to understand, communicate and critically appraise different ways of knowing and to be fully capable of making critical judgments about a fundamental body of knowledge. Participation in undergraduate research is an essential component of that goal. An unusually high number of students (about 40%) enter Hope with an interest in science and mathematics. Many students indicate that the prospect of doing undergraduate research is a major reason for choosing Hope College. Although we do not have a research requirement, roughly 85% of Hope science and mathematics majors do research. 

The collection of programs we supported with AIRE funds was intended to expand and strengthen the integration of undergraduate research into science education. AIRE funds were used to promote collaborative research, foster collaborative and interdisciplinary curriculum development, and to revitalize our commitment to the K-12 educational community through in-house research programs and a multifaceted outreach program.

The AIRE Visiting Scholar Program 

The visiting scholars program has been successful in promoting both research and curriculum development. AIRE funds were used to support 50% salary for faculty on sabbatical leave from other institutions (with the other 50% coming from the home institution). Collaboration between each faculty scholar and one or more Hope faculty included a shared research project, co-teaching a course at the College, and developing an approach to research-based teaching that would be implemented at the scholar’s home institution. To date, 7 scholars have visited Hope or will soon visit from an array of institutions, including 4 in computer science, 2 in geology and one in math. For example, Dr. Gary Lewandowski from Xavier University (OH) worked with Dr. Mike Jipping from Hope on the development of new approaches to hand-held computing and the integration of hand-held computer elements into the computer science curriculum. In another partnership, Dr. Kent Murray from the University of Michigan-Dearborn collaborated with Dr. Jon Peterson from Hope on the integration of analytical chemistry components into the Earth and Environmental Systems laboratory course and on ground water research involving students from both campuses. This program has been successful in initiating innovative research activities that have continued on campus. In addition, we have received several joint research grants that support ongoing collaborations, and new courses have been established at Hope and at the home institutions of the scholars. Judicious use of half-year salaries from Hope faculty on year-long sabbaticals will allow us to continue this program.

Research Opportunities for Pre-Service Teachers

Although Hope has a highly successful undergraduate research program, very few students interested in careers in K-12 education took advantage of the available research opportunities. We used AIRE funds to implement a research opportunity specifically for students studying K-12 education. Each summer we supported 3 to 5 students who worked with faculty on basic research or on research targeted towards pedagogical improvement of our courses. These students presented their work at the annual in-house Hope College Celebration of Undergraduate Research and 5 of the students presented their work at the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research (NCUR). We soon found that student interest was greater than the funds earmarked for this program, so we have set aside additional funds from our regular stream of funding so we can provide more opportunities for this diverse student population to enhance their learning through research. We encouraged such students to do this work because of the doors research opens to investigative learning in their future classrooms and because deeper understanding of research by teachers should increase that understanding in their students.

Figure 1: An undergraduate student involved in her research project.

 
Celebration of Undergraduate Research

NSF-AIRE funding also allowed us to initiate the Hope College Celebration of Undergraduate Research, which has been very enthusiastically received by students and faculty. Students in the natural sciences already had an opportunity to present the results of their research to the broader community in the sciences, but the new Celebration includes research presentations by students from all divisions of the college. By embracing all students who are taking part in research, the symposium has grown from about 140 students exclusively from science, mathematics and engineering, to about 200 students. While NSF funds provided the impetus and original funding for the Celebration, the institution has now underwritten this event and will continue to do so on an annual basis. 

Curriculum Reform

AIRE funding provided support for curriculum reform at Hope College at an important point in our institutional history. The college was undertaking a massive restructuring of its core curriculum with a special focus on general education science courses for non-science majors. Teams of faculty developed novel interdisciplinary science courses that employed research-rich instruction in both lecture and laboratory. NSF-AIRE funds were used to support faculty time for this curriculum reform, and to bring faculty together in informal group meetings where they could discuss the objectives of the reform process and to learn from one another what was working, and what was not. The set of new core science courses was entitled General Education in Mathematics and Science (GEMS) and the informal bi-monthly group meetings were aptly named GEMS lunches. Among the 15 GEMS courses (and their faculty) are Science and Technology (physics and engineering), The Biology of Bread-making (biology and biochemistry), Edible Botany”(environmental science and biology), Issues of Radiation and Safety (chemistry and physics), and History and Philosophy of Biology (biology and philosophy). An indirect measure of the success of these courses is the number of students who take more than the institutionally mandated minimum number of GEMS courses (thus using precious electives) to further their understanding of science. After offering the courses for several years, the GEMS program is being evaluated so we can determine if the new courses have enhanced student learning. The GEMS lunches continue to this day, with discussion topics related to teaching, research and assessment. The 20-25 faculty who participate on a regular basis form a significant community of scholars that provides an intellectual backbone of all we hope to accomplish as a community of scholars and educators. 

Assessment 

We are in the midst of a massive assessment effort to help us to better understand the impact of undergraduate research on student learning. An assessment team, led by Drs. Elaine Seymour (from the University of Colorado) and David Lopatto (Grinnell College) are working with students and faculty from Hope and from Grinnell College, Harvey Mudd College and Wellesley College. NSF-AIRE funds from each institution were used to initiate this effort and these funds were supplemented significantly with a grant award from the NSF-ROLE program. From this research we now have evidence that the primary aspect of undergraduate research valued by students is the intimate relationship they develop with their faculty mentor. This brings students to a new collegial mode of learning about a specific aspect of science (Elaine Seymour, Personal Communication). Furthermore, we have now developed a valuable quantitative tool that correlates well with the qualitative research approach taken in our original study. The impetus provided by AIRE support on each of the four campuses has promoted a collaboration that is now continuing independently of the original support. 

Outreach 

Our Outreach Program should not be considered a selfless labor of charity. For us, outreach is the result of cold calculation: our undergraduate research program requires motivated students who have come from high school teachers who understand how they need to be educated. We also know that research as a scholastic endeavor requires the support of educated voting citizens who understand why it has to be supported. We have to be as dedicated to assuring the proper context for our research program as we are to creating the program itself. Thus we meet with K-12 teachers and their students, from whom we learn as much as we teach. AIRE funds have supported three outreach programs designed to stimulate grass-root partnerships, provide professional development opportunities for high school teachers and provide research experiences for high school students.

A Grassroots Partnerships Between College Faculty and K-12 Teachers: In 1999, using AIRE funds, Donald Cronkite (Biology) called together 20 of the best high school teachers in the country and 20 teachers of undergraduate biology to a meeting called Forging a Link. Their agenda was to discuss and answers these questions: “What do we have in common?” and “What can we do to help each other?” These two quite different groups of educators found they had much in common. For example, both groups wanted to improve the numbers and quality of students entering high school and college teaching, and to improve their own skills as teachers, especially in light of the widespread use of inquiry-based learning. The teachers decided that by forming partnerships, they could address specific needs in their own communities. They decided that all participants should find a partner and when they met again in 2000, K-12 teachers should bring a college faculty member, and college teachers from the first year should bring a K-12 teacher. At the next meeting, there were approximately 20 established partnerships whose goals related in one way or another to improving the climate for undergraduate research. These included:

The group met in 2001 to learn about and apply assessment techniques to their partnership programs. In this meeting the group also discussed a third question: “What can we do to help others form partnerships?” They answered this question by collectively writing a paper on their own high school - college partnerships that could serve as models for others. [Note: The extensive summary and assessment paper, written by 36 participants in the Links Program, is available by sending email to ( cronkite@hope.edu ).]

The Toucan Project: Summer Workshops on the Interface of Teaching and Researc: In order to increase students’ understanding of science, we wanted to help move inquiry-based learning into the high schools. To that end we sponsored a one-week workshop in which high school teachers could develop inquiry-based lessons they could take back to their high schools. An inquiry specialist provided instruction on inquiry approaches to science teaching. In addition, we appointed a Hope College faculty member as a scholar in residence, who provided lectures on his or her own research and reflected on the theory and practice of research. Upon returning to their home schools, each teacher was expected to try their own lessons and the lessons of the other participants. Participants often attended state and local meetings of biology teachers, where they presented a workshop on their inquiry lessons. Some of the local participants continue to work with Hope College to promote inquiry-based teaching. For example, at an annual Hope College Science Day to which local high school students are invited, teaching idea workshops for the teachers are now planned and presented by a team of high school teachers and Hope faculty.

Figure 2: Teachers at the Toucan Project summer session are learning how a forest works.

 
In the third year, we added a second week to our workshop when participants actually taught their lessons to an Upward Bound biology class on Hope College’s campus. In addition, for the 2001-2002 academic year we supported a weekly real-time Internet conference for the participants. We are convinced that to be most effective, the summer program should include a week of lesson development, a week of teaching new curriculum to Upward Bound students, and a year of electronic conferences to support the teachers in their home schools. We are committed to finding a way to carry this forward and are using our expertise to find funding for future programs.

Figure 3: Using filters during a Toucan. Project exercise for teachers. 

 
High School Students in Research: In order to increase the diversity of our student population, we have developed a six-week program of summer research for high school students who identify themselves as belonging to groups under-represented in the sciences. AIRE funds provided some support for this program during the award’s lifetime. We recruit students from local high schools and through our special relationship with the Hope College Upward Bound Program. During the same six weeks as the summer program for Upward Bound, one or two students participate in research activities in faculty labs. As much as possible, we try to treat these high school students as we do our undergraduates. Each is assigned a research project and attends all of the seminars and other programs the college students attend. They give a report on their research at the end of the summer before their parents, school and college administrators, and the faculty and undergraduates with whom they worked. When it is appropriate, the program director makes provisions so individual research students can also take advantage of some of the Upward Bound programs. Some of these high school students tell us that the program helped them decide NOT to go into science, but a number are captured by the experience, and we have had several students from our research program come to Hope College and continue their work. While no formal program continues, individual faculty who see the value in this have found resources to bring in students, and high school students often serve as lab instructors for our summer science camps for elementary and middle school students.

We continue to recruit faculty who are willing to participate as research mentors. The program depends heavily on faculty who are willing to give some of their valuable time to this enterprise. We pay the students a small stipend for the summer work, and faculty mentors are offered a small amount that they may designate either for supplies or for their paychecks. Clearly, the rewards for the faculty must be entirely intrinsic ones.

AIRE was a unique opportunity that came to us at a time when we were trying to discern how we could build on our solid foundation of undergraduate research. We could perhaps have simply used the money for more of what we did already, but we were seeking ways to go beyond that. We might well have experimented with many of these efforts even if we had not received the AIRE funds, but those funds came when we were thinking in new directions. We learned a lot, especially about reaching out to the larger educational community, which we are now translating into action. We are a small institution which cannot implement every good idea, so we are considering how AIRE-initiated programs relate to our long-term goals. 

The culture of integration at Hope is having a positive, active influence on those of us who live and work in the Division of Natural Sciences. We continue to try to integrate the curriculum with faculty-student research, and with our outreach to teachers and students. By our efforts at teaching and research and in giving our expertise to the wider community, we are also being integrated into a cohesive community of scholars who value each other. Collaboration of all kinds drives this integration. We know that very few can excel at all we do. We hope to construct a community in which each of us is valued and encouraged so that we cam be more than the sum of our parts.


The Institution

Hope College is a distinctive and distinguished four-year, liberal arts, undergraduate institution in Holland Michigan, known and respected for excellence in science and mathematics and the integration of research with science learning. Hope’s current enrollment is 2900 undergraduate students. Hope College has a long-standing commitment to provide students opportunities to learn cutting edge science in rigorous laboratory courses that stress hands-on, research-based modes of learning, and in collaborative work with faculty in research. The Division of Natural Sciences at Hope includes the departments of Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Geology, Mathematics, Nursing, and Physics and totals 59 full-time faculty. Approximately 30% (200/690) of seniors graduate with a degree in science or mathematics. Of these, about 30% enter graduate school. About 35% of our science/mathematics graduates apply to professional schools, and their 10-year acceptance rate is 71% for all students, and 90% for students who have participated in research. The Division of Natural Sciences at Hope is recognized by Project Kaleidoscope as a whole “Program that Works” and as a model for other institutions. Hope College was recently recognized in the U.S. News & World Report (2002) as the fourth leading institution overall in undergraduate research.

More information on Hope College can be found at the institution’s Web site ( http://www.hope.edu/ ) and information on aspects of divisional efforts in science and mathematics can be found at the Web site for the Natural Sciences Division ( http://www.hope.edu/academic/natsci ). 


Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the National Science Foundation for their support of these efforts. In addition we thank the faculty and administrators of Hope College for their vision, enthusiasm and endorsement of all of our efforts. Finally, we thank Jeanne Narum of the Independent Colleges Office and Project Kaleidoscope for her encouragement of all we do at Hope College and the wisdom she has provided us throughout the years as a consultant, colleague and friend.

 

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